Link between handedness and mathematical skills

A link between handedness and mathematical skills exists but is more complex than thought, according to a study by the University of Liverpool. The relationship between handedness and mathematical abilities is controversial. Some studies have claimed that left-handers are gifted in mathematics, and strong right-handers perform the worst in mathematical tasks. More recently, a study proposed that ambidextrous individuals are the most disadvantaged group in terms of mathematical ability. Psychologists from the University of Liverpool and the University of Milan conducted a study involving more than 2,000 students in Italy aged between six to 17 years and asked them to complete a number of mathematical tasks, including simple arithmetic and problem-solving. In the study, the participants' degree of handedness was ascertained by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, a questionnaire assessing how much an individual is rightor left-handed (or ambidextrous). The researchers then analysed the results in relation to the extent to which they were right or left-handed.